Sessions, Playgrounds, and Meets ups - Oh My! ISTE 2019 Takeaways Part 1
Updated: Jul 19, 2019
Hi friend,
I wanted to write a post about all the learning that occurred during ISTE. I couldn’t help but think of all the connections made and the people I met. So I had an idea spark — why don’t I reach out to my PLN power players to speak into this post? After all, we are better together. So here are our thoughts as a collective group of educators regarding our experiences at ISTE. So sit back and enjoy as we spill the tea on our ISTE 19 takeaways.
I have been planning my ISTE game plan since January. I even had a document in my OneDrive account called, ISTE schedule of events and I started to add to it as events, meetups, and playgrounds came up. I also knew I had to meet with amazing PLN power players at ISTE. Honestly for me going to ISTE is like being in a space with educators who are like-minded and want to grow, learn, and lead. So, let’s jump right in!
First, let me introduce you to the authors:
Dr. Sam Fecich, professor of education, podcaster, author, and PSL fan. I’m from Pittsburgh, PA. Please find me on Twitter and Instagram: SFecich and check out my site: www.sfecich.com
Debbie Tannenbaum, School Based Technology Specialist at Sangster Elementary School in Springfield, VA in Fairfax County, VA. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram: MrsTannenb and on my website: Techy Notes
Dr. Jessica Redcay, teacher, college adjunct, GirlsWhoCode leader, presenter, and lifelong learner. I was thrilled that ISTE was in my home state: PA! You can find me on Twitter and Instagram: RedcayResources and check out my site: Redcay’s Resources
Amanda Jeane Reichert, 4th Grade Teacher, Educator, Technology Innovator, Robot Enthusiast, Volunteer, Foodie, Board Gamer, Future Jedi, Citizen of the Environment, KTI 2019. You can find me on twitter @AmandJeane2 and my webpage www.amandajeane.com.
Erin Hall, High School English Teacher and Founder of the Young Educators Society of Rhode Island, from Rhode Island. Let’s connect @erinhall47 on Twitter, @mshallclassroom on Instagram, or at www.yesri.org and @yesriorg on all major social media platforms!
Erin McDonnell-Jones, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Bellevue University in Bellevue (Omaha), Nebraska. Find me on Twitter or Instagram @teacheredBU.
Poster Sessions
I look forward to the poster sessions each year. I get to learn from educators (and students) from around the world. I can get a lot of information from a variety of perspectives on topics such as the latest tech tool, to teaching strategy, to how students incorporated STEM into their lessons. They are incredible.
Dr. Jessica Redcay shares, “There were a lot of great poster sessions. QR codes made it easy to access the information from the different presenters. It is always exciting to see something new, and I learned about Kinazium. This is a kit that can be changed to create mazes for various robots.”
She goes onto share that, “Pear Deck was a tool that was shared at several poster session. This add-on tool in Google Slides that promotes interaction and engagement.” I love sharing Peardeck with my preservice teachers as it is a tool that can be used across subject areas, grade levels, and content areas. I love that I can see where students are in the presentation and encourage them to be active listeners and learners in the lesson at hand.